90 Miles from Needles: the Desert Protection Podcast

The Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Utility-Scale Solar energy development is shaping the future of solar in the western United States. In this episode, host Chris Clarke explores the different alternatives proposed in the draft and their potential impact on public lands. He discusses the exclusion areas, the size of land available for solar development, and the importance of considering rooftop solar as an alternative. Listeners are encouraged to comment on the draft and make their voices heard. Tune in to learn more about the future of solar energy in the desert.Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of "90 Miles from Needles: The Desert Protection Podcast," host Chris Clarke introduces four books that will challenge preconceptions about the desert. The first book, "The Arid Lands: History, Power, and Knowledge" by Diana K. Davis, challenges the notion that deserts are wastelands in need of development. The second book, "Peoples of a Sonoran Desert Oasis" by Jared Orsi, explores the history and culture of Quito Bacito and the impact of border policies on the oasis. The third book, "Dead in Their Tracks" by John Annerino, sheds light on the human cost of crossing the desert borderlands. Lastly, "Chasing Centuries" by Ron Parker uncovers ancient agave cultivars and their significance in Native American cultures. Tune in to discover a new perspective on the desert. Buy the books: The Arid Lands; History, Power, Knowledge Chasing Centuries Peoples of a Sonoran Desert Oasis: Recovering the Lost History and Culture of Quitobaquito Dead in Their Tracks: Crossing America's Desert Borderlands in the New EraBecome a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

About The Guest(s): Dr. Christina Aiello is a bighorn sheep biologist and research associate with Oregon State University. She has dedicated her career to studying and conserving desert wildlife, particularly desert tortoises and desert bighorn sheep. With a focus on the Mojave Desert region, Dr. Aiello's research examines the impacts of habitat loss, fragmentation, and climate change on bighorn sheep populations. Summary: Dr. Christina Aiello joins host Chris Clarke to discuss the conservation of desert bighorn sheep in the Mojave Desert. They explore the threats facing these iconic animals, including habitat loss, fragmentation, and the spread of respiratory diseases. Dr. Aiello highlights the importance of maintaining genetic diversity and connectivity between bighorn populations to ensure their long-term survival. They also discuss the potential impacts of the proposed high-speed rail project on bighorn sheep movement and the need for wildlife crossings to mitigate habitat fragmentation. Despite the challenges, Dr. Aiello remains hopeful and inspired by the resilience of desert wildlife. As a bonus, desert writer Louise Mathias offers a related commentary on the likely impact of the proposed Soda Mountain Solar Project on bighorn sheep in Mojave National Preserve. Key Takeaways: Desert bighorn sheep require rocky, high-elevation terrain with access to water and forage. Habitat loss and fragmentation from urbanization and infrastructure development are major threats to bighorn sheep populations. Bighorn sheep exhibit natural movements and rely on connectivity between habitats for genetic diversity and survival. Wildlife crossings, such as overpasses, are crucial for facilitating bighorn sheep movement and maintaining population connectivity. Bighorn sheep are susceptible to respiratory diseases, which can be introduced through contact with domestic livestock. Genetic diversity plays a vital role in bighorn sheep's ability to resist and recover from diseases. The proposed high-speed rail project in the Mojave Desert will further fragment bighorn sheep habitat and hinder their movements. Protecting and improving degraded habitats can still benefit wildlife, as they demonstrate resilience and adaptability. Quotes: "Bighorn sheep will make use of a bad situation that we hand them and get as much from that landscape as they can." - Dr. Christina Aiello "Wildlife crossings are a public health measure for bighorn sheep." - Dr. Christina Aiello Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Summary: Chris discusses the challenges that the deserts will face in 2024, including increased utility scale development of renewable energy, the threat of lithium mining, and the continuation of border policies that waive environmental laws. Chris emphasizes the need for accurate advocacy for the deserts and challenges the misconception that the desert is a defective version of other ecosystems. He introduces the Desert Advocacy Media Network and highlights the importance of support to continue their work in providing accurate information and promoting desert protection. Key Takeaways: 2024 will bring challenges for the deserts, including increased utility scale development and the threat of lithium mining. The Desert Advocacy Media Network aims to provide accurate information and challenge misconceptions about the desert. Support is needed to hire sound editors, pay freelance reporters, and promote the podcast through targeted advertising. Quotes: "We have no lack of work to do. We just need to be able to do that work." - Chris Clarke "Please consider helping us make the Desert Advocacy Media Network the place people turn to when they want to learn more about the desert and how to protect it." - Chris Clarke How to Donate Use the podcast's Patreon account at 90milesfromneedles.com/patreon Text "NEEDLES" to 53-555 Visit our Facebook page at https://facebook.com/ninetymilesfromneedles to donate via Network For Good Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

About The Guest(s): Obi Kaufmann is an artist, author, and naturalist known for his California Field Atlas series. His latest book, "The Deserts of California," explores the biodiversity and ecological systems of California's deserts. Summary: Obi Kaufmann joins hosts Chris Clarke and Alicia Pike on the "90 Miles from Needles" podcast to discuss his latest book, "The Deserts of California." The book is part of his California Field Atlas series, which aims to explore the how of ecological systems rather than the what or where. Kaufmann shares his fascination with the complexity and diversity of California's deserts and the importance of celebrating and understanding their biodiversity. He also discusses the challenges of conservation and preservation in the face of development and exploitation. Kaufmann emphasizes the need for a democratic approach to finding solutions and the power of combining data and love in stewardship efforts. The conversation touches on the changing nature of the deserts, the importance of oral tradition and sharing knowledge, and the role of beauty and art in inspiring curiosity and hope. Key Takeaways: The California Field Atlas series aims to explore the how of ecological systems rather than the what or where. The deserts of California are full of biodiversity and ecological complexity, challenging the perception of them as empty spaces. Conservation efforts require a combination of data, love, and understanding to address the challenges of development and exploitation. The deserts are a moving target, constantly changing and adapting to new conditions. The power of beauty and art lies in its ability to inspire curiosity and hope. Obi Kaufmann's podcast with Greg Sarris, Place and Purpose, can be found here: https://www.placeandpurpose.live/ Order The Deserts of California here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-deserts-of-california-a-california-field-atlas/19407146?ean=9781597146180 Quotes: "The complexity is where the truth is. When things get too simple, too generalized, we miss so much." - Obi Kaufmann "The desert is doing so much heavy lifting for both of those goals [conservation and carbon zero]." - Obi Kaufmann "Democracy is having this conversation right now here." - Obi Kaufmann "The desert itself is an indicator landscape, if you will. It's a litmus test of our stewardship." - Obi Kaufmann "Acceptance of the natural cycles and patterns in nature brings peace and understanding." - Alicia Pike "The combination of data and love is a powerful force for conservation and preservation." - Obi Kaufmann Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's been a minute since we published an episode, in part because Chris and Alicia have had complicated lives. Here's how we contend with bad news inside and out of the desert: we go to ground in the desert.Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We delve into the world of the saguaro cactus, exploring its cultural significance, scientific studies, and more. We talk to journalist Henry Brean of the Arizona Daily Star and Tucson storyteller Audrey Scheere about different aspects of this magnificent plant, the threats it faces, and how people interact with it — for good or ill. Join us as we uncover the secrets of the saguaro!Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chris and Alicia discuss the recent victory in delaying exploration for lithium near Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. They also announce the formation of the Desert Advocacy Media Network, the podcast's new nonprofit organization home. The hosts then delve into their love for the desert plant, the Globe Mallow. They share personal stories and observations about the plant's adaptability and its role in the desert ecosystem.Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mason Voehl from the Amargosa Conservancy joins hosts Chris Clarke and Alicia Pike to discuss the threat posed by a Canadian mining company's plans to conduct exploratory drilling for lithium near the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Nevada. The drilling could potentially puncture the aquifer and cause catastrophic damage to the fragile ecosystem. The hosts highlight the conflict between the need for renewable energy and the preservation of biodiversity, and call for public support to protect Ash Meadows. They provide a petition and encourage donations to the Amargosa Conservancy to help in the fight. Episode photo of Devils Hole pupfish by Olin Feuerbacher/US Fish and Wildlife ServiceBecome a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We spend a lot of time correcting misapprehensions about the desert. But don't get the impression we think we're flawless! We've made our share of mistakes about the desert as well. In this episode, we share some of the things we once thought about the desert that are just plain wrong, on topics ranging from rainfall to rattlesnakes. And of course we do this on a hike in the Mojave Desert.Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chris and Alicia talk to Elizabeth Paige of Native American Land Conservancy and Save Our Springs. Podcast episode photo by John Fowler.Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are flowers to be seen in the desert, if you know where to look. Chris and Alicia de-stress while enjoying the best of the desert, and discuss how best to celebrate such effusive blooms without destroying them.Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We here at 90 Miles from Needles are big fans of The Border Chronicle podcast and email newsletter, and in this episode, we're republishing an episode from that podcast first aired in November in which Melissa Del Bosque talks to Texas border activist Scott Nicol about how the Biden Administration is continuing to build Trump's border wall, though it's called something else. From The Border Chronicle's description: Scott Nicol is an artist, educator and environmentalist in South Texas who has advocated against border wall construction for years and is an expert on the subject. In this Border Chronicle podcast, Nicol talks about the current construction of wall in his community, which is being labeled as “levee repairs.” And he touches on other wall construction happening in other states despite President Biden’s promise during his campaign “that not another foot of wall” would be constructed during his administration. You can hear more of The Border Chronicle by checking out their website at TheBorderChronicle.com. Their email newsletter is extremely good. Also! 90 Miles from Needles is going non-profit! Public support of our podcast has been extremely gratifying, and yet we're going to have to bring in more resources to fulfill our vision for this podcast, of covering the whole desert without burning ourselves out -- and adding new voices to the show. We'll be bringing you more information on this as our work progresses over the next few months, getting our paperwork in order and assembling a top-notch and diverse board of desert activists, communicators, and other like-minded heroes. In the meantime, we could use your donations, if you've been meaning to drop us some cash!Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The US Interior Department is rethinking the ways it has managed big corporate solar on public lands, and we have opinions. Chris pontificates based on his many years of covering public lands renewable energy as a recovering journalist, and Alicia interrupts his solarsplaining once in a while to inject some non-jargon-ridden analysis. We love solar! We want it in our backyards! And we want to protect desert habitat from industrial development. We can do both.Also: we announce a new project, a special project podcast focusing on the wonderful Amargosa Basin in Nevada and California. More on that soon. If you'd like to hear more of Charlie King's work, check out his website at charlieking.org. The album Chris mentions in the closing notes can be purchased here, with all proceeds going to the artist.Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alicia talks to a well-organized group of desert denizens who are working together to stop an inappropriate development from destroying their way of life, and the desert environment they cherish. For more information, or to tell California's San Bernardino County to insist on a full environmental review of the project, see stopwonderinn.org Extra thanks to Lucas Basulto of NPCA and Saving Slowpoke, and to the wonderful Lisa M. for reading samples from the writing of Helen Bagley. Watch this site for news of Lisa's performance in March.Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In late 2022, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey ordered the illegal construction of sections of ineffective but ecologically disastrous border wall made out of shipping containers. Then, in response to a federal order as he prepared to leave office, he ordered that wall torn down. Protesters on the ground helped in a big way, by forcing contractors to stop work on the project. We talk to Melissa Del Bosque, co-founder of the Border Chronicle project, a podcast and email newsletter reporting on border issues from Tucson, AZ. Our interview is accompanied by audio recorded on the scene of the illegal border container wall by Patrick Donnelly of the Center for Biological Diversity. Then, Chris and Alicia discuss upcoming episodes of the podcast and thank you listeners for your support.Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Edwin P. (Phil) Pister, who died January 17, was a fisheries biologist long employed by the California Department of Fish and Game (now Fish and Wildlife.) He was involved in working to protect numerous fish in Eastern California and beyond, including the golden trout and the Devils Hole pupfish. We here republish an excerpt of Episode 7 from Season 1 that featured Phil talking about the moment when he literally, with his own two hands, saved the Owens pupfish from extinction. Phil was also a founding member of the Desert Fishes Council, which you can join here. Thanks to the DFC for putting Phil's photo where we could swipe it. (Edited to add: Photo taken by John Wullschleger.) And thanks to Phil for everything.Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to Season 2! Chris and Alicia spend time communing with an 11,700-year-old creosote in the Mojave Desert, and discuss the species' importance as well as the ethics of treating millennia-old beings as disposable. King Clone's Wikipedia page is here. If for some reason you want to learn more about creosote gall midges, you can start here. You can learn more about the Western Solar PEIS, and find out how to make a comment, at this site. Comment deadline is currently February 6, so don't dawdle! If you're looking for the lin to Letters From the Desert, it's here.Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The desert ironwood, Olneya tesota, is the basis of an entire ecosystem in the Sonoran desert. And this ecosystem includes people. Alicia and Chris hike in Ironwood Country and talk to the renowned Petey Mesquitey, host of Growing Native on KXCI in Tucson AZ, about this wonderful tree. We also take a little time to thank those of you who've made our first season a resounding success. Check us out at 90milesfromneedles.com to see what we have planned for 2023! Listen to Petey Mesquitey's Growing Native at https://kxci.org/programs/growing-native-with-petey-mesquitey/ This episode is dedicated in memory of 90 Miler and Patreon supporter Heather Hurley, who persuaded Chris 20 years ago that Boron, CA was a more interesting place than he had realized. We will miss you, friend.Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The largest reptile in the Mojave faces threats ranging from predation to illegal collection to loss of habitat. But the desert tortoise has defenders. We talk to Tim Shields of Hardshell Labs about his campaign to use 21st century tech to help the tortoises, and Luke Basulto of Saving Slowpoke (and the National Parks Conservation Association's California Desert team) about his work to bring the beast a new generation of supporters in communities of color.Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On October 12, the California Fish and Game Commission postponed a decision yet again on whether to grant the western Joshua tree protection under the California Endangered Species Act. Chris and Alicia speak to Brendan Cummings of the Center for Biological Diversity about what happened, and what the future holds for the beleaguered tree. Plus news! Learn more about the Center for Biological Diversity: https://biologicaldiversity.org/ Listen to the California Fish and Game Commission's October 12 meeting: https://cal-span.org/meeting/cfg_20221012/ Read the Salt Lake Tribune article on Steven Lund's crackpot nuclear idea to "save" the Great Salt Lake: https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2022/10/19/another-wild-idea-save-great/ Comment on the Rough Hat Clark County solar project: https://www.blm.gov/press-release/blm-seeks-comments-proposed-rough-hat-clark-county-solar-project-near-pahrump Basin and Range Watch has more about Rough Hat Clark County solar: https://www.basinandrangewatch.org/RoughHat-Solar.html Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Solar in the built environment could meet America's need for electrical power. But still the desert is in the crosshairs. Public lands with intact habitat are coming under extreme threat because of the Inflation Reduction Act and subsidies for utility scale solar. Shannon Salter is the founder of Mojave Green, an environmental organization dedicated to protecting the Mojave Desert. https://mojavegreen.org/?page_id=149 She organized a protest event at the site of the Yellow Pine Solar Project in Pahrump Nevada, one of dozens of solar projects proposed along the route of the pending Green Link West transmission line. we were there with our recording equipment. Also, Chris and Alicia come upon a mystery in the Mojave Desert. Take our reader survey at https://90milesfromneedles.com/survey Eplanning site for Bonnie Claire Lithium https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2021595/510 More on the Piñon -Juniper study: https://phys.org/news/2022-10-pinyon-juniper-tree-species-declining-ranges.html Keep tabs on those frisky Devils Hole pupfish: https://www.nps.gov/deva/learn/nature/devils-hole.htm Keep our podcast going! https://90milesfromneedles.com/patreon Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're not going to be able to save the desert if we self-immolate. Alicia reads Chris the riot act about taking time to enjoy the desert without being preoccupied by saving it. He responds by heading to the Colorado River. Also, we are happy to report on a major blow to the fiendish Cadiz water mining project, and we read your letters. Well, one letter anyway.Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alicia takes on one of her personal bugbears: the endless supply of mylar balloons landing in the desert, choking wildlife and starting fires, just because people don't care what happens to their floating trash. Also, we subject Joshua Tree National Park superintendent David Smith to the Reddit Ask Me Anything treatment. Episode image, which is kinda on the nose if you ask us, via our pal Cyndi T. in Tucson. Find the Desert Balloon Project at https://www.facebook.com/desertballoonproject/ Check out jobs at Joshua Tree National Park: https://www.nps.gov/jotr/getinvolved/workwithus.htm Check out the JTNP Climbing Management Plan in progress: https://www.nps.gov/jotr/getinvolved/climbingplan.htmBecome a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts contend with record rainfalls, climate change and urban development are drying up the Great Salt Lake. We talk to David Smith of Joshua Tree National Park about floods in desert parks, and Zachary Frankel of Utah Rivers Council about saving the Salt Lake.Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With bad news all around, how do we keep up our strength and resolve to protect the places that matter? Chris and Alicia start an ongoing conversation in a couple of those places. In between, 90 Miles from Needles talks to LA Times reporter Louis Sahagun about his reporting on a new problem facing the desert's ancient bristlecone pines.Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's good news: the desert offers sweet sustenance that can be had for a little bit of work. And we mean actual food, not that metaphorical well being stuff. Though that's here too. But first, Chris offers some thoughts on how to help 90 Miles from Needles get to more people, and Alicia recuperates from an unfortunate but temporary rambunctious-dog-related injury. (She is getting better.)Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chris enjoys the desert at its hottest. Alicia, on the other hand, is closer to sanity. Both of them treat desert heat with respect. We talk about how to make sure your time in the desert doesn't end in tragedy. The desert needs its defenders alive! Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Climate change has been happening in the desert for some time now. While consensus isn't complete, most experts agree that more warming will make the desert hotter and drier. But at the same time, while individual monsoon thunderstorms will get less frequent, they may become more destructive. 90 Miles from Needles visits Jan Emming, owner of Desert Sense Nursery in Yucca, AZ, who has been paying attention to the changes in his local weather for 22 years now.Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The writer Edward Abbey is revered by many desert activists, and roundly criticized by others, all based on the provocative and occasionally offensive things he wrote. Chris and Alicia talk about the prescient and helpful things Abbey wrote, and about the things they wish that neither Abbey nor anyone else had ever said, some of which have gained currency among the most violent practitioners of rightwing politics.Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the mid-1980s until the first months of the 21st Century, a coalition of desert tribes and non-Native activists worked to keep the state of California from siting a low-level nuclear waste dump in the Mojave Desert, on land sacred to at least five tribes, above an aquifer that drains into the Colorado River. Philip Klasky, an instructor at San Francisco State and a resident of the desert in San Bernardino County, played a crucial role in that campaign, which succeeded against all odds. Phil's story is a lesson in how people working together can beat those odds. He also taught us at 90 Miles from Needles the importance of Native peoples taking the lead in land-based campaigns. Phil died unexpectedly earlier this year. We are grateful to The Mojave Project for allowing us to use their recorded interview with Phil, and to our friend Matthew Leivas of the Chemehuevi Tribe for sharing with us the Salt Songs he sang at Ward Valley in May to honor Phil.Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joshua trees, the iconic species of the Mojave Desert, are in serious danger of becoming extinct across most of their range... and yet the state of California is recommending against granting the trees permanent protection. We talk to desert botanist Christina Sanchez and Brendan Cummings of the Center for Biological Diversity about the dangers the trees face, and what we can do to stop California from stripping the trees' protections. Plus, C&A visit a Joshua tree forest threatened by unsustainable development,Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Plus, why rock stacking is a bad habit, and how you can keep the state of California from stripping protections from the western Joshua tree. Listen to the episode either before or after you click here: https://act.biologicaldiversity.org/1PcJypNEXEq5JSsEnx64gQ2?fbclid=IwAR0kuSiQL_uwsTaWx0D01QAA-VC-mitc4ZWeFAfuKnrvE9te-cUZpiAvSz0 to register your support for keeping the trees protected.  Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Considered extinct by the late 1950s, the Shoshone pupfish was rediscovered 36 years ago by a woman who changed her entire town to preserve the species. We talk to Shoshone resident Susan Sorrells about her life and the fish, with context set by Mason Voehl of the Amargosa Conservancy.Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They're more complicated than the howling silhouette on your bespoke candle holder from Santa Fe, and more interesting. Chris and Alicia discuss living with coyotes in the desert, what they offer, what they don't offer, and how we can best get along. Also: updates on Colorado River drought and Cima Dome wildflowers.   Episode image © Peter Thoeny, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Spring is coming, and that means that hundreds of thousands of people start thinking about visiting the desert to see the "superbloom."  But even in the rare years when it happens, there's a right way and a wrong way to take in the desert flower show. Chris and Alicia offer tips. Plus: a note on Ukraine, and an update on the Dixie Valley Toad. Episode photo by CA State ParksBecome a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As we publish, scientists are announcing that the last dozen years are the driest in more than a millennium. With the desert's cities ever more dependent on water from the Colorado River, how will southwestern society meet the challenge of hyper-aridity? Chris and Alicia get water wonky with Kyle Roerink of the Great Basin Water Network.Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cima Dome was supposed to be a place where Joshua trees were most likely to survive climate change. A climate-accentuated wildfire hit there anyway. In this episode, Chris relates how much the Cima Dome Joshua tree forest meant to him, he traumatizes Alicia by showing her the place, and then we talk with a National Park Service botanist about revegetation efforts. Despite the magnitude of the fire, individual efforts are already making a difference.Support our show!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/patreonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Discovered only in 2017, the Dixie Valley toad is found only in one 400-acre hot spring wetland in remote Nevada. Guess where a giant geothermal corporation is ready to build a wetland-draining power plant? We talk to Patrick Donnelly of the Center for Biological Diversity about this wild species threatened by the energy industry, and the Center's campaign to save the toad. Learn how you can help!Support our show!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/patreonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this first episode, Chris and Alicia head out to Sand Draw, a beautiful and vibrant bit of desert dry wash woodland in the Mojave Desert that almost became an industrial sacrifice zone for the energy industry. It's a good place to see why the desert needs protection, what's at stake, and that desert protectors can win. We mention Paul Loeb's book Soul of a Citizen, which is available here: https://www.paulloeb.org/soul-of-a-citizen/ . Highly recommended, especially if you're wondering whether you have it in you to become an activist. Note that Loeb doesn't use the word "citizen" in the sense of someone born in a certain place or with a theoretical legal right to be in a place: it's all about community involvement. Speaking of community involvement, we'd like to thank the folks who called in and left us voicemail messages with their views about desert protection. You sparked some great conversation. Support our show!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/patreonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Alicia points out that despite Chris's delusions of popularity, there are people who don't know who he is. Hilarity ensues. Transcript Season 0, Episode 4: Who is Chris? Chris Clarke: This podcast is made possible by our supporters at Patreon, who give us the resources we need to produce each episode, you can join their ranks at 90milesfromneedles.com/patreon. Alicia Pike: So Chris, when you invited me to be a part of this podcast, I naturally assumed I would need an introduction, but I figured everybody knew who you were. You have a storied background in being a desert defender. I figured everybody’d just naturally, like, “oh, it's Chris Clarke.” I don't necessarily think that's true. I think out of the 7 billion people on this planet, there are a few who don't know who you are. CC: Good point. What should we do about that? AP: Maybe we should do a little special introduction to Chris Clarke. [Intro music] Bouse Parker: The sun is a giant blow torch aimed at your face. There ain't no shade nowhere. Let's hope you brought enough water. It's time for 90 Miles from Needles, the desert protection podcast, with your hosts, Chris Clarke and Alicia Pike. AP: So who are you, Chris? CC: I am just this guy. I live near Joshua tree with my wife, Lara and my dog, Heart and 14,000 fathead minnows in a former swimming pool. Are there specific things you think we ought to talk about? AP: I think your background in ways that you've been building momentum to get to where you are today. CC: Well, my first visit to the desert, I was six years old. It was the summer, 1966. I have a few really vivid memories of it. I remember camping at Park Moabi, south of Needles on the Colorado River and being sick. Because it had just been so hot and I'd been drinking gallons of really bad theoretically fruit flavored stuff, an inauspicious introduction to the desert. But there were things like going to Petrified Forest National Monument — at the time it was before it was a national park — and seeing petrified logs and the Painted Desert, which was absolutely breathtaking. Even as a little kid, I was like, “wow, this exists?” It was so different from the small towns of upstate New York, where I grew up. 16 years later, I was 22 years old and heading to California, sitting in a Greyhound bus that was heading west on interstate 80, going across the Great Salt Desert at night, and just got a sense of something immense and awesome out there. And the next day Northern Nevada looked incredibly desolate to me, cause my eyes had not yet adapted to the west, and It was terrifying at the same time, it was really intriguing. And now of course, Northern Nevada looks like a tropical rainforest to me, cause it's just all really lush sagebrush and junipers and Pines and things like that. A couple of years after that, uh, my girlfriend at the time was heading to law school and we were doing the tour of campuses and left the bay area, got to Mojave pretty late at night, stopped in a restaurant that's no longer there for dinner. It was. Amazingly picturesque even in the dead of night, woke up with a start because my girlfriend had fallen asleep at the wheel and then woken up after about a second and hit the brakes reflexively. And we piled out of the car. There were Joshua trees and saguaros growing together, and there was a coyote standing in the middle of the road, laughing at us, and it was just intoxicating. And I got propelled into it by some cursing and brake noise. And all of a sudden I was in this magical land. It was amazing to me. I just couldn't believe what was there. I mean, I knew that desert existed, but my introduction to the desert was just life altering. AP: I'm struck thinking about this listening. I've heard some of these stories before, but yeah, I grew up in the desert. San Diego doesn't look like it desert, but I knew from a very young age that we had planted a bunch of Palm trees and paved over what was Chaparral and it, you know, basically desert. And all the road trips I took with my mom as a kid were to Arizona and Nevada seeing other parts of California that it's all desert. Like I've never known anything else. And it's striking to me to think you came here from lush green water-rich woods back east. And I grew up in this dry desert environment. And I feel like I can fall in love with nature wherever I go, but I'm just realizing that I'm taking it for granted, that I grew up in the desert and have always cherished the Chaparral as that's home to me, that that smell to this day, whenever petrichor hits the air, I'm transported to my childhood and just being wandering around in the canyons and just being free. And in my church. CC: Nice. Yeah. I mean, it was, it really took some time to get acquainted with how the desert is supposed to look. And I think one of the reasons that's a hot button issue for me when people bring their assumptions from elsewhere to the desert is because I know I did it. And not that I want

Hello friends! Transcript of this episode is at 90milesfromneedles.com In this Season Zero short episode, Chris and Alicia discuss the commonly shared urban legend that Joshua trees are not really trees. This is a topic that has gotten on Chris's nerves before. Spoiler: They're trees. Chris cites a biologist on Twitter with a handy definition of tree. Here's the guy. Thanks, Tom. With regard to whether the trees are one or two species, or members of what family? Here's something Chris wrote a while back. Since then, the US Fish and Wildlife Service has decided to treat the trees as belonging to two species: Yucca brevifolia for the western trees (closest to LA) and Yucca jaegeriana for the eastern trees (closest to Las Vegas.) Finally, the teaser reference to "touching Joshua trees" is inspired by a different bit of folklore spread on social media that touching Joshua trees is both illegal and harmful to the tree. To which we would reply that if you can't touch a tree without harming it or breaking the law, you need to rethink the way you are living your life. The trees do have weaker branches than hardwoods and such, though, so lay off with the climbing and hammock-hanging. Thanks for listening! We're really looking forward to our formal launch in January. Support our show!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/patreonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On a visit to Bonanza Spring, threatened by the Cadiz corporation's plan to mine desert groundwater for profit, Alicia Pike talks about what she hopes to bring to 90MFN as cohost.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/ninetymilesfromneedles)Support our show!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/patreonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A brief description of what we'll be doing with the podcast, partly to answer questions and partly to get practice with our equipment. All flaws and glitches included for transparency's sake.Transcript (Chris C. speaking):I'm in a low pass in the Bigelow Cholla Garden Wilderness. The Bigelow Cholla Garden sounds like a place only a fool would visit. The Bigelow Cholla Garden is a garden in the same sense that the Devil's Playground is a playground. But I'm looking out over the panorama to the Southeast that includes the Stepladder Mountains, the Turtle Mountains, the Chemehuevi Mountains, the Whipples in the far distance; aside from the breeze, just... quiet. [music intro]About 15 years ago when I had a blog. Do you remember blogs? I remember blogs. About 15 years ago on my blog, I asked readers what we were fighting for. It turned out to be a difficult question to answer. Back in 2005 or so we all knew what we were fighting against. Bush was in the white house. The US military was involved in two land wars that we knew of.There were increasing infringements on civil rights. There were plenty of things that we were fighting against. And one day I just realized that I didn't know what we were fighting for. So I asked that question on my blog and readers had a lot of answers but every answer that said "we are fighting for X" was essentially fighting against something."We are fighting for an end to the war." "We are fighting to stop attacks on women's rights, on civil rights." There were a few people that suggested it was a rather privileged question that we have so many things to fight against that thinking about what we're fighting for, thinking about the kind of society and the kind of world we want to build is a privilege and a luxury. And honestly, I found it a little hard to argue with that. But still, I thought if we don't have in mind the kind of world we want, we're not going to do as good a job of fighting against the things we don't want. Since I moved to the desert, since I became involved in protecting the desert, that question no longer bothers me. I know what I'm fighting for. The Southwestern deserts in north America are the largest stretch of ecologically functional habitat left in north America, south of the tundra.They are a wealth of biological diversity. They possess some of the oldest living things on the planet. There are plants living in the desert that are self-aware. Every time we look at the desert, we find new species. And from a cultural political point of view, the native cultures that grew here in the desert that we settlers and descendants of settlers get our best to displace are still intact, still have an intact relationship with land, still have that cultural connection to the mountains, the washes, the springs. The landscape is a living thing. It has integrity. It has an importance that has little to do with human beings though not nothing. It's a landscape in which we are not the most important species, but despite what some would have you think we do belong here in a way. But less tangibly than all of those things, the desert is a place where one can find renewal, both in the desert and in one's self. The desert is a place where you can see the ecological processes going on in deceptive simplicity. And by understanding a bit more, noticing a bit more, you can feel a bit more connected. The desert is a place where you can go and feel unimportant, and yet huge. There are many things worth fighting for in this world. The desert is what I'm fighting for. And the people that call it home. By putting together the podcast 90 Miles from Needles, what I want to do is bring that desert to you. The sounds, the experiencSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/ninetymilesfromneedles)Support our show!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/patreonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.Become a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.